PHP and JavaScript programming languages are two popular programming languages used in website design. Many people know PHP programming language as a server side programming language and JavaScript language as a user side programming language. But it is good to know that JavaScript has become a full-stack programming language with the introduction of the Node.js framework in 2009. In the sense that it can be used both in the backend and in the frontend. So, if we want to compare PHP language with JavaScript more precisely, it is better to compare PHP with Node.js.
Ever since JavaScript introduced the Node.js platform, comparing it with PHP has become one of the concerns of programmers and those who want to start learning a language. In this article , we want to compare these two programming languages and see which one is a better option for back-end or server-side programming.
Table of Contents
The importance of choosing the right programming language
Undoubtedly, choosing the right technology plays an important role in the success of a project, and the wrong choice may lead to the failure of the project. As you know, web technology includes two parts, client side and server side. Server side or backend includes backend programming language, database and server.
Node.js and PHP are the two programming languages that are most used on the server side. And both can be used in complex projects. At the same time, these two have significant differences because they are built on different concepts and architectures. PHP is a programming language and Node.js is a JavaScript platform. At the same time, both languages can be used in all projects. In the following, we will examine these two.
Comparison of PHP and Node.js
Choosing a programming language for a project largely depends on the programmer and his coding style. For this reason, one programming language cannot be considered superior to another. Each programming language in the world has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. However, to better compare PHP and Node.js, we have tried to compare them in the following features:
Coding speed
The coding speed in PHP is higher than Node.js. As a result, in projects where we have limited time and want the programming process to be done faster, PHP is a more suitable option. In contrast, Node.js needs more time to code and compile it.
Performance
In general, the efficiency of Node.js is higher than PHP. PHP is a blocking language. This means that a request is made first and then the next request. But in Node.js, several requests can be made simultaneously and in parallel.
Extensibility
PHP is well compatible with markup languages such as HTML as well as content management systems or CMS. PHP also works well with various databases such as MySQL, SQLite, Redis and MongoDB. In addition, PHP can work with countless plugins and libraries. On the other hand, Node.js has high extensibility. JavaScript has many powerful frameworks and tools to help improve JavaScript applications.
Popularity
About 80% of websites use PHP, half of which belong to the WordPress content management system that works with PHP. This statistic for Node.js is something between 1 and 2 percent. Among them are big websites like Netflix and Linkedin.
Ecosystem
PHP has been in the market since 1994. For this reason, it has a very large community now. A large support community makes it easier for developers to use the PHP language and fix questions and bugs, helping to save development time and costs while increasing productivity. In contrast, Node.js is much younger than PHP and has a smaller community. Because of this, you may get into trouble if you face challenges.
Advantages of PHP
- PHP is supported by the vast majority of hosting companies.
- It can be said that PHP can be run on all servers and platforms.
- PHP programming speed is high. In addition, fewer lines of code are needed for programming in PHP.
- It supports countless libraries, frameworks and CMS.
- Learning PHP language is much easier for beginners.
- Unlike Node.js, you don’t need a virtual server with SSH access to run PHP.
- About 80% of the world’s websites use PHP.
- PHP is a language with a long history and a large community of programmers.
- PHP is used in the most popular content management system in the world, WordPress.
Disadvantages of PHP
- PHP is slower compared to Node.js. Because it executes the code line by line, it means that a command starts to execute after the complete execution of its previous command.
- PHP is only for website design and therefore its uses are limited.
- PHP performs poorly in error handling.
Advantages of Node.js
- It has the ability to process multiple tasks in parallel.
- Because front-end programming is usually done with JavaScript, using Node.js, front-end and back-end code will be integrated.
- js is lighter compared to PHP.
Disadvantages of Node.js
- js is a relatively new language. For this reason, the community of programmers is small.
- js is ineffective with web applications that have complex graphics.
- js does not support content management systems (CMS) that make up a large percentage of websites.
- Only about 1% of all websites in the world use Node.js.
When is PHP the right choice?
Since PHP is known as a dedicated language for website programming, it can integrate well with HTML, centralized servers and databases, and is the best choice for projects that use LAMP stacks including Linux, Apache, and MySQL. Was. PHP is the best option when you are dealing with a content management system such as WordPress or Joomla. PHP is also the most logical choice in programming e-Commerce based websites, email marketing platforms, content based websites, personal or business blogs. PHP programming language is used in major websites such as Yahoo, Wikipedia, Mailchimp and Tumblr.
When to use Node.js?
Node.js is well suited for building dynamic single-page web applications that work concurrently and intensively. Node.js is used in messengers and social networks, streaming services like Netflix, online education websites, project management tools like Trello, Internet of Things (IoT) applications, and more.